What is the xenotransplantation situation like in New Zealand?

New Zealand scientists are very lucky, as they have a virus-free population of pigs to work with. In 1807, whalers

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established a pig population on the remote Auckland Islands as a food source which have been isolated from other pigs ever since as is completely free of disease. In 1996, Living Cell Technologies ran a clinical trial where insulin producing pig cells were injected into people with type 1 diabetes. This was stopped when xenotransplant research was stopped throughout the world while more testing was carried out to assess the risks of xenotransplantation. In 2005, the New Zealand Government recommended that xenotransplantation research should continue on a case-by-case basis. Living Cell Technologies have since then applied for approval to run a clinical trial to treat diabetics with insulin producing pig cells.